


Chosen

by transfixeddream



Series: Slayer 'verse [2]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-10
Updated: 2011-09-10
Packaged: 2017-10-23 14:35:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/251407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transfixeddream/pseuds/transfixeddream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jared is still the slayer, except now he has a boyfriend to deal with and an impending apocalypse to stop.</p><p>Also posted <a href="http://transfixeddream.livejournal.com/108711.html">here</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chosen

"So the movie was good," Jensen starts off finally. It's the first thing either of them have said since stepping out of the movie theater, but the silence is far from awkward.

Jared snorts. "Yeah, if a movie with Nicholas Cage can be considered good."

Jensen elbows him. "Well _I_ enjoyed it." Jensen doesn't point out that his enjoyment was not because of the movie, but from Jared's reaction he figures he doesn't need to.

Jared's arm tightens a bit around Jensen's waist. "Yeah," he says softly. He smiles slightly and Jensen just wants to kiss him right now. "Me too."

The air is cooling with the night as they walk through the park, lamp lights making a glowing path that they follow. Jared's hand is warm on his waist and Jensen pulls in a little closer, just because he can. It's a nice night, stars lit up bright in the sky with not a cloud in sight. Jensen's not sure if the hot heaviness in his stomach is normal during a date whose number he can't even remember--he's stopped counting after the third--but he can't bring himself to care about it all that much.

"It's still kind of early," Jared says. "You up for getting coffee?"

Jensen smiles and nods, but before he can answer Jared verbally, there's a loud scream coming from the edge of the park. Jared's hand leaves Jensen in an instant and goes into his jacket pocket, extracting a small wooden stake as he sighs. "I'll be right back," he says before he takes off running towards the source of the cries for help.

Jensen stays where he is and uses the time to check his phone--one missed call from his mother. He considers calling her back, but decides he doesn't want to chance her hearing the background noises of Jared smacking around a vampire. He'll call her at the coffee shop and let her know that he'll be home soon enough.

Jared comes jogging back a couple of minutes later, grinning. He has barely worked up a sweat, and he pushes his hair out of his eyes.

"Everything okay?" Jensen asks, mostly to be polite since Jared's expression tells him everything, but he still feels the corners of his lips curling into a relieved smile at Jared's nod.

"Vampires are no match for this slayer," Jared says as he tucks his stake back into his pocket. "I'm too awesome for them."

"And so modest, too," Jensen says.

Jared's grin cranks up a notch, and he comes willingly when Jensen tugs him against him. He laughs and presses his lips to Jensen's cheek for a quick second and then pulls away. "Now, about that coffee."

*

"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm asking you to do my project _for_ me," Chad says. "I just want to look at yours and... revise it."

"Chad," Danneel starts, a wavering sigh coming off the name, "I am not letting you cheat. You have to do the work yourself."

Chad sputters indignantly, looking affronted. Jensen's managed to witness a lot of versions of Chad over the last few months, but this one is new. If he's honest, he kind of gets a sick pleasure from watching it. "But--but! What's the point of being pals with a super brain if I can't reap the benefits?"

"Jared's been teaching her some stuff," Jensen warns. "I'd watch what you say."

Chad glances between them, face going a little pale at Danneel's tiny smirk. He stands up abruptly, chair screeching as he does so, and yells, "Jeff, my man! You got anything about the Gulf War in this place?"

For the first time since Jensen walked into the library five minutes ago, Jeff appears in the doorway of his office. His face seems to be set in a permanent frown as he looks at Chad. "This _is_ a library," he says, voice tired. "Check the history section."

It surprises Jensen, honestly; Jeff's kind of grown a reputation for being obsessed with his books, acting like an old man yelling at the kids to stay off his lawn. Chad looks equally befuddled, but Jeff just goes back into his office and Chad scowls, heading up the stairs to the upper stacks.

"Jeff seems a little tense," Jensen states casually.

Danneel looks up from her book. "Well, he's trying to find information on the Master. That's more than six hundred years worth of history to look through."

"Still. The guy's gonna get grey. Grey _er_ ," Jensen amends.

"I offered to help him, but he said he wanted to handle it by himself." Danneel smiles and shrugs, goes back to her book.

Danneel is pretty much the best at research, Jensen's come to find out, or anything to do with books or computers, basically. She was the one who managed to sit up with Jensen until two AM on Saturday, prepping him for his biology test. That pretty much makes her awesome in his books forever.

Jared comes in a couple of minutes later, huge ass grin spread across his face that makes Jensen smile back.

"Hey," he greets. "How'd it go?"

"Awesome," Jared says, taking a seat next time him. "I'm pretty sure I'll get at least a B, and I soon I will never have to take creative writing again. I can't complain. Hey, Danni," he adds with warm smile. He glances around and frowns. "Okay, I'm in a library, but yet there's no Jeff. The end is nigh."

"He's cooped up in his office," Danneel explains. "Genevieve brought him that book he wanted last night."

"Oh. And he's researching without us?" Jared blows out a breath in mock-disappointment. "Darn. He never lets me have any of the fun." He says it all like a joke, but Jensen can see the way Jared's hands squeeze themselves into fists at the mention. The longer the Master sits in his lair calculating a way out, the tenser Jared seems to become at any hint of his name or his plans.

"He's gonna make you do all the research when giant bugs start attacking Sunnydale, just you wait," Jensen says, and Jared's hands unclench as he turns to Jensen.

"Whose side are you on?" he asks with a pout.

"Okay, you need to stop that right now," Jensen says. "Yours," he says with an eye roll when Jared looks expectant.

Jared just grins and moves in to kiss him, a short peck against his temple. "And don't you forget it," he says. He backs up and looks Jensen up and down, frowning. "You're in your uniform."

"Oh, crap," Jensen says, pushing his chair out quickly. He'd forgotten all about cheerleading practice, shit. Even though there's no more games, Sophia is still insisting on bi-weekly practices, and she is going to _kill_ \--

"Jensen!"

Jensen cringes and turns to where Sophia is pushing past the doors of the library. "Soph, hey."

"Oh, look everybody, Sophia's entering a library for the very first time," Chad says as he comes down the stairs. "I know it's a scary place, the land of books..."

Sophia places her hands on her hips and scowls. "I can't believe you people willingly put up with him."

"What can we say?" Danneel asks. "He's like our little puppy."

"Exactly!" Jared agrees, then makes a face. "Our little... sex-obsessed puppy."

"Who is still available as your date to the spring fling," Chad adds.

"I wouldn't be caught dead with you," Sophia says. "Besides, _James_ has already asked me," she adds, voice a bit smug.

"Lafferty asked you?" Chad asks. "Wow, the quarterback and the head cheerleader going out! Look at you overcoming all of those high school stereotypes."

"Whatever," Sophia says with a wave. "Jensen, you're missing cheer practice. Come on."

Jensen smiles fleetingly at Jared; there's really no point in denying Sophia. "I'll talk to you later?" he tries, and Jared nods, smiles back.

"I can't believe you hang out with those people," Sophia says once they're out of the library.

"Hey, watch it," Jensen says. "That's my boyfriend you're talking about. You know, the one who saved you from invisible girl?"

Sophia looks a little white at the mention of Marcie Ross: a little invisible, a lot homicidal, with a very personal vendetta against Sophia. There's a bandage on her face from where Marcie managed to slice her cheek with a scalpel, and Sophia presses her fingers to it in recollection. "Alright, fine, Jared's okay," she relents.

"And Danneel helped me pass my history exam. And she's helping you with the dance."

"Fine," Sophia says, back to all venom and no bite. "What about Chad Michael Murray? Has he done anything that'll make me question my opinion on _him_?"

Jensen bites his cheek and thinks. Finally, he shakes his head. "Nope."

"Good," Sophia sneers as she enters the gym.

"Wait a sec," Jensen says, something just registering with him. "How do you even know what his middle name is?"

Sophia shoots him a glare but doesn't answer.

*

Jared ends up sticking around school, and Jensen spots him in the library on the way out of the showers. He's alone, headphones plugged into his ears, and he's pacing himself, arms raised as he punches the air in front of him. He's in nothing but shorts and a tank top, and Jensen takes a moment to appreciate the smooth lines of his back, the pull of his muscles as he moves about. His skin's tanned and sweaty and absolutely flawless, and Jensen admires the way Jared moves so skillfully, body fluid with its motions as he tones his reflexes.

If he's honest, Jensen could probably watch Jared like this for a long time, but boyfriend or not, he's pretty sure that if he stares for too long it'll move into the creepy category. Jensen's not idiotic enough to approach Jared when he's like this, either--learnt that lesson quickly when Jared almost staked Miss Ferris--so he pulls off his shoe and tosses it at Jared, hitting his leg. Jared startles as he turns around, tense face melting away when he sees his assailant.

"Jensen," he says as he pulls the buds out of his ears. "I didn't think you'd be back."

"Yeah, well." Jensen shrugs and catches his shoe with a smirk when Jared throws it back at him. "Kinda wanted to see you."

Jared grins and wraps an arm around him, ending any earlier appreciation Jensen had for his sweaty body. "Dude, you stink," Jensen grumbles, pushing him away half-heartedly.

"That's just my manly musk," Jared says, and tightens his grip on Jensen's shoulder. Most of the time, Jensen's glad that the nervous, awkward Jared faded away after their third date, but right now is not one of those times.

"Seriously, I can't breathe," Jensen says--it's not completely untrue. "Get off me and go shower."

"Are you going to come with me?"

Jensen snorts and this time successfully shoves Jared off of him. "If you manage to not smell like a dumpster in ten minutes, I'll get you food."

"It's a deal," Jared says with a wide smile.

*

They hit up Burger King once Jared's cleaned up in a tight fitting navy t-shirt and jeans, and Jensen kicks Jared's foot each time Jared steals some of his fries once his own are gone. It doesn't deter Jared at all--if anything, it makes him lunge at Jensen's fries more frequently, fingers like vultures feeding on their prey. Jensen can't bring himself to mind, though, especially when Jared finally captures his foot between his own two.

It's definitely one of their more mild dates in the fact that Jared hasn't had to kill anything so far, and Jensen finds himself grinning a little wider whenever Jared runs his fingers along the sleeve of his shirt, laughing a little harder when Jared cracks a joke. He feels good, feels happy, and when they get into his car Jensen doesn't waste time and leans over and kisses Jared, slow and deep.

"What was that for?" Jared asks when Jensen pulls away, a little breathless.

Jensen shrugs and turns the key, listening to the rumble of the car roaring to life. "Just wanted to," he says.

They head to Jared's then, and get comfortable on his bed and watch TV. There's a rerun of _The Simpsons_ on but Jensen's not really paying attention to it. His head is on Jared's chest and he can feel the expanding of his lungs with each breath Jared takes. Jensen falls into a sort of lull, eyes staring at the screen but not focusing on what's there.

He stays like that until Jared starts to move, making a short grunt as he slides out from under Jensen. Jensen makes his own groan of protest but Jared's already up, flipping the TV off with the press of a button, then he gets back on the bed and crawls up to Jensen. Without warning he leans down and catches Jensen's lips in his own, kissing him with a hard edge, teeth scraping over the skin of Jensen's bottom lip. Jensen clutches at his bicep, moaning as he opens up for Jared's tongue, and Jared's hand slides down Jensen's chest.

Jensen's fingers dig sharply into Jared's arm when Jared's hand finishes its path and lands on Jensen's crotch, palm massaging his dick, getting it hard in his pants. Jensen can't help but buck up into the touch, kissing Jared senseless as Jared's fingers fit on either side of his cock, stroking it the best Jared can.

And then Jared pulls away as abruptly as he'd come on, lips red and bitten, and he pants a little, says, "I'm gonna do something, okay?"

Jensen nods dumbly, honestly a little surprised when Jared moves down to fit between his legs. The pieces come together quickly for him when Jared slips his fingers under the band of his jeans, popping the button open. Jared undoes his fly and pulls his pants and underwear down, and Jensen manages to collect himself enough to lift up to help. He releases a truly embarrassing noise then, as Jared wraps a hand around him, hot palm fitting to his cock like it was made for it.

Jared strokes it a couple of times, like he's testing the feel of it in his hand, and Jensen could really give him some honest feedback right now. It's the first time he's ever had somebody else's hand on him, and it feels infinitely better than anything Jensen could do for himself. Jared's got his tongue caught between his lips, frowning a little as he focuses intently on Jensen's face. Jensen feels his face go red hot under the scrutiny, blood pounding in his ears as Jared works his shaft, and then Jared just-- _stops_.

"Jay--" Jensen tries, hating the way the name comes out, his voice too high and tight.

Jared is cupping his own dick, ridged line visible under his pants. "Would you--can I try something?"

"God, anything," Jensen says, brain numb.

Jared bends down then, one quick motion, and he opens his mouth and sucks the head of Jensen's dick. Jensen cries out in shock, hips lifting up automatically and Jared pulls back abruptly, Jensen managing a quick, "Sorry," that Jared shakes off. He presses his forearm to Jensen's waist, holding him down, and then tries again. Wet hot lips slide over Jensen's head and he squeezes his fingers in the blankets, eyes glued to where his dick is disappearing in Jared's mouth.

Jared moves down a little more, taking Jensen another inch, and his tongue flicks over the entire thing, sending sparks through Jensen. Jared's mouth feels amazing, the heat of it bleeding through, and Jensen comes without warning. It's the most intense thing he's ever felt, electricity racing through his body as he spurts into Jared's mouth. He bites down on his lip as Jared pulls off immediately, hand moving up the length of Jensen's dick and jerking him through the rest, his other hand rubbing raw against the crotch of his jeans.

Jensen comes down slowly, panting out breaths, and when he's coherent enough, he pulls Jared up and presses their mouths together. There's the taste of come in Jared's mouth, bitter and salty, and Jensen's dick twitches at the knowledge that it's _his_. He gets himself together enough to slide his hand down the front of Jared's pants, groaning into Jared's mouth when his fingers get sticky. Jared came in his pants, managed to come just from rubbing himself and sucking on Jensen.

It's enough to get Jensen feeling dizzy and he breaks the kiss, sliding his hand against Jared's jaw. "What was _that_ for?" Jensen asks when he catches his breath.

Jared grins, breathes sharp punches of air through his mouth. "Just wanted to," he says, lips morphing into a smirk.

They clean up, Jared changing underwear, and then get back on the bed, TV turned back on as Jared presses his head to Jensen's shoulder. Jensen's aware of the dopey grin on his face but he can't bring himself to care, especially when Jared's wearing a matching one. He's pretty sure that this night can't get any better.

At some point, they must end up falling asleep, because the next thing Jensen registers is the ringing of Jared's cell phone. Jared makes noises of protest as he pulls it open and shuts the alarm off. Finally, he opens his eyes and mutters, "I gotta patrol. I left my lucky stake at the library."

"Come on," Jensen says, nudging him awake when he closes his eyes again. "I'll drive you."

*

The library's dark when they get inside, looking oddly malicious without the harsh daylight invading it. There's a faint glow off to the side from the open doorway of Jeff's office, and when Jensen steps further into the room he can see Jeff inside, phone pressed to his ear and its cord twisted around his finger. His glasses are off and he's frowning, deep lines set into his forehead.

"Yes, there's no mistaking it," he's saying, voice a harsh whisper. "I don't _care_ \-- Yes. Well, yes. No, I understand."

"Wow," Jared says. "Someone's pissing him off."

Jeff spots them then, eyes widening slightly. "Look, I have to go. Yes. Alright, tomorrow then. Don't be late." He hangs up quickly, and then he grabs his glasses from his desk and puts them on. "Jared, Jensen. What're you two doing here?"

"Could ask you the same question," Jared says, crossing his arms. He relents after a moment, holds up the carved wood. "I have to patrol and I forgot my stake."

Jeff nods. "Oh, right. Well I--I'm just... researching."

"Still?" Jared asks. "You sure you're not going to overdo yourself?"

"No!" Jeff shouts, and Jensen startles; he honestly didn't know Jeff's voice could _get_ that loud. Running a hand down the lower half of his face, Jeff blows out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I suppose I'm tired."

"Or high on coffee," Jensen offers.

Jared ignores him, eyes dead set on Jeff. "Who was on the phone?"

"Nobody. A--a friend of mine. Just a friend."

Jared raises an eyebrow. "Just a friend, huh? Does this friend happen to have a--"

Jared's cut off by a rumble, and suddenly everything's shaking, strong vibrations that Jensen can feel through his entire body. He grabs on to the front desk and looks quickly for Jared, him and Jeff holding on to the archway leading into Jeff's office. There's a sound of breaking glass and bookcases fall over with dull wooden cracks, scattering books everywhere. Then the noise and shaking stop completely, leaving nothing but silence in its wake.

It takes Jensen a moment to collect his bearings, to manage to stand on his own two feet without wobbling over. By the time he's seeing straight, Jared and Jeff are looking pensive, eyeing the sudden mess in the library.

"Some earthquake," Jared says quietly.

Jensen walks over to them. "I've been living here for a while now and never felt one that strong."

"Something tells me that wasn't a normal earthquake," Jeff says slowly. "Jared, you should get, um, going. And I'll... look into it, of course."

Jared shakes his head and mutters, "Of course."

*

"And don't forget about the sound system! The Bronze won't let us use theirs," Sophia says, adding to the checklist that already must have at least fifty other things on it. Jensen's listened to her rattle them off but he can't remember a single one, and he's not sure how James can.

But James just nods and says with a smile, "I won't."

"And you're picking up my dress today, right? Amy said she'd hold it until five. Just tell her it's for me."

"You got it," James says, and Sophia grins, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"You are too sweet! Seriously, how are you so good to me?"

"No idea," James says, smirking.

"Well," Sophia says, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Keep it up. And make sure you get that stuff to the Bronze no later than tomorrow night."

"Sure thing, babe," he says, and leaves as Sophia blows him another kiss.

"Somehow you've gotten Lafferty wrapped around your finger," Jensen says, a little stunned. "I'm impressed. I didn't even think he could be charming, and yet, there he is. I think he even washed his hair."

Sophia shoves Jensen with a laugh and starts walking. "Leave him alone. Do I rag on your boyfriend?"

"Yes," Jensen says as he catches up to her. "Almost constantly."

Sophia considers this and then nods. "Okay, you have a point. And speaking of Jared, you two better be at the dance Saturday night."

"Wouldn't miss it," Jensen says. Truthfully, he actually would rather miss it, because spring fling is basically pointless to him, but Jared wants to go. That, and since Sophia roped him into helping make banners, he figures he should at least get to see them hanging up.

"Great!" Sophia tucks her books closer to her chest. "I'll see you after school?"

Jensen nods, and then Sophia's going off to fourth period. He's got another couple of minutes before the bell rings, so he figures he should check the library and see if Jared's in there. He hasn't managed to see him since he dropped him off at the cemetery last night, and well... he definitely needs to see him.

There's nobody in the library when he gets there, though, not even Jeff in his office. Jensen briefly wonders if he actually managed to get home last night to sleep, and then he takes in the figure of Miss Ferris, the computer science teacher, looking in the window of the library door. He opens it for her, and she smiles, in her arms what appears to be a hundred or more sheets of paper.

"Thanks, Jensen. Is Jeff around? I have the papers he wanted."

Jensen shakes his head. "Nope, I haven't." He glances at the top sheet and frowns as he reads the large, block print: 'NEW JERSEY BABY BORN WITH NO MOUTH'.

*

"This feels wrong."

Jared looks at Jensen and rolls his eyes. "Come on, don't be like that. Jeff's keeping something from me, and I wanna know what it is."

"I still feel... _dirty_."

They're crouched in the bushes outside the school, watching the front doors. It's been almost an hour since sundown, and so far the only person to come in or out of the doors was the janitor. Jensen feels restless, his fingers picking off leaves from a branch.

"What if he's meeting Miss Ferris?" Jensen asks.

"Then I am going to be seriously disturbed," Jared says. "Also, very glad that he didn't tell me." His eyes widen at the sound of footsteps. "Shh! Listen."

A few moments later, the figure of a woman comes into view, the sharp sound of her heels on concrete growing louder. It's hard to make out who she is with the lack of light, and it's only when she begins to climb the steps that Jensen can make her out. She's wearing a leather jacket and tight jeans, black hair falling over her shoulders as she glances around once before stepping inside. Definitely not Miss Ferris, that's for sure.

"Genevieve?" Jared whispers, and Jensen's stomach twists into knots.

He's never actually met Genevieve, but he's aware of her. Or rather, aware of what she _is_ : a vampire. He talked it over with Jared when Jared found out about it, listened to him discuss the possibility of having to stake her after he had thought she was planning to kill him, and he'd been thrown for a ride when Jared _didn't_ kill her. Even now, knowing that she's a good guy--or at least not a _bad_ one, anyway--he feels uneasy. He really has no idea why Jeff would be sneakily meeting up with her now.

"Come on," Jared says, already climbing out of the bushes and darting across the pavement. Jensen has no choice but to chase after him; he doesn't like his chances of being alone outside in Sunnydale after dark.

There's nobody in the immediate view of the library, and Jared enters silently, waving at Jensen to follow him a couple steps in. Jensen can hear the murmurs of voices, and though he can't make out the words, the tone sounds tense. Jared stops just before the door to Jeff's office and Jensen steps up behind him--almost knocks into him in the process--and then he's able to hear Jeff and Genevieve clearly.

"You're reading it wrong."

"No," comes Jeff's tired response. "I am very certain I'm not. I've checked it against my other volumes--"

"Well then there's gotta be a way around it. You looked through those books that chick gave you?"

" _Yes_ , and found nothing! Listen, I know some prophecies can be... they can be dodgy. God knows Jared's thrown a wrench in many of them. But there is nothing in this book that will not come to pass! And the text makes it clear: come Saturday Jared will fight the Master, and." Jeff pauses, and when he speaks again it's shaky. "And he will die."

Jensen feels the breath go out of him, feels the sharp dig of his fingernails into his palm. In front of him, Jared's deathly still, not making a twitch. Jensen reaches out and covers his shoulder with his hand, to no reaction.

"No," comes Genevieve's response, exactly what's being replayed over and over in Jensen's head. "That's not right. It can't be. Maybe I--shit, I don't know. Maybe I got the wrong book."

"What more do you want?" Jeff exclaims. "The prophecy is clear. I wish to God that it wasn't, but there is _nothing_ \--"

And then Jared starts to laugh, soft, low chuckles devoid of all humor that creep under Jensen's skin. It builds louder, disbelief growing from it, and Jensen feels sick.

"Jared?" Jeff asks.

Jared steps forward then, into the dizzying light of Jeff's office. Jensen's hand slips from his shoulder and falls ungracefully through the air in the process. He watches as Jared looks between the two of them, arms crossed as he blocks the doorway.

"So that's it, huh?" Jared says, voice too steady to be anything but deliberate. "This is the big thing you've been reading up about? My _death_?"

"Jared--"

"How's it go again? One slayer dies, the next one's called?" Jared nods furiously, lip caught between his teeth. "Yeah, real nice system you guys've got going. Wonder who they'll be. Does it happen to mention that in there, too?"

"Jared," Jensen says lamely. His head is reeling with things to say but he can't get them off his tongue. And then Jared holds up his hand and Jensen doesn't even try to get them out.

"Stop," he says, voice gone hoarse, eyes saying more than anything else. He turns back to Jeff. "Were you even going to _tell me_ , or were you just gonna send me off to die?"

Jeff cringes. "Well, I was hoping that I could--"

"What?" Jared demands shakily. " _What_? You were hoping to save me? Hoping to find some way around it? I've got a way around it: I quit." He traces the edge of his lip with his tongue and nods, obviously liking the plan. "Yeah, I quit. I resign, or I'm fired--whatever the hell you wanna call it, I give up."

Genevieve takes a step forward, and Jared takes another back. She holds up a hand in peace. "Look, I get that this is hard for you--"

Jared laughs harshly. "You're gonna try and be comforting now? _Really_?"

Genevieve narrows her eyes, jaw clenched. "You can't run away from this. You're the slayer."

"No, I _was_ the slayer," Jared states calmly. "I quit, just now. You were here, remember?"

Jeff frowns. "Jared, the Master is growing progressively stronger. That earthquake last night was not even a fraction of his full power! And if you don't stop him--if he _rises_ \--"

" _I don't care_!" Jared yells. "I really don't. Find somebody else to stop him, 'cause I won't do it. I can't do it."

"Jared, I--"

Jared shakes his head, fight gone out of him. "I don't wanna die, Jeff," he says quietly, but the words ring louder in Jensen's ears than anything that's been said tonight.

Jared pulls out his stake then, lets it drop to the floor and roll away. He turns around and moves right past Jensen in a fury, cheeks wet. Jensen grabs his arm but he shakes it off immediately, hand coming up to wipe at his face. "You shouldn't walk. Let me drive you home," Jensen says, trying his best to keep his voice calm.

Jensen's reward is an empty smile. "I'd rather walk, thanks."

"Jay, you shouldn't be alone right now..."

Jared just snorts and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Apparently there are a lot of things I shouldn't be doing right now," he says harshly. Then, softer: "I'm fine. Thanks anyway, Jensen."

And then he walks out.

*

Jared's not at school the next day.

Maybe it was naive to hope that he would be, but Jensen still feels a sting in his chest when he glances through the round windows on the library doors and only sees Jeff and a janitor cleaning up the mess caused two nights ago. He doesn't blame Jared for not coming because he's fairly certain he'd do the same thing if positions were reversed, but it still sucks. Jared hadn't answered his calls and texts last night, and Jensen just wants to know if he's okay.

Well, of course he knows Jared isn't _okay_ , because who would be after being told that? But he wants to know what Jared's thinking right now, if he made it home okay. He didn't quite manage to sleep last night, turning restless in his bed. The one time he did manage to relax, he dreamt of Jared gasping in front of him, bleeding from his neck. Jensen didn't even bother to try sleeping again after that.

At lunch, Danneel and Chad ask about him, and Jensen's not positive if he's supposed to tell them or not. He ends up giving them most of the information but leaves off the part about Jeff's hesitance to inform them. Jensen's doesn't know why he withholds that--he's honestly angry with Jeff for not telling Jared immediately, can't quite shake the wonder if Jeff would've even let Jared know at all had they not overheard.

He is sure that Jeff's pouring over his books to find a way to put an end to the prophecy, at least; despite what he did, he obviously did it with good intentions. Jensen would like answers, would like to know everything Jeff knows. He's certain that he couldn't do anything to actively help fight a prophecy, but he needs to at least know the details. Maybe just knowing them will give him peace of mind, or something. Anything.

He doesn't go to Jeff for the answers.

Fifth period begins and Jensen's pushing open the door of the computer lab. Miss Ferris looks up from her monitor and looks surprised. "Jensen?"

Jensen nods and closes the door, and then doesn't wait before speaking. "What do you know about the Master?"

It's not what she was expecting, clearly. Her fingers clench around her mouse, and her face goes a little slack. She recovers quickly, though, shaking her head and smiling softy. "Of course you know. Why would I assume otherwise?" She pushes her chair out and stands, slides a drawer out from her desk and pulls out a stack of papers, all neat and white. "I'm part of a network. About a week ago, this guy starts spouting off crap about apocalyptic signs. Linked to stories where dead birds fell out of the sky and spelt 'Him', a baby being born with no mouth, wells of water producing nothing but blood."

Jensen picks up the first print out. It's from a newspaper, the headline in bold print: 'POSSESSED PRIEST KILLS SIXTY-SIX.' He swallows and looks up. "That all?"

"Not even close," Miss Ferris says. She shuffles through the pages before passing it to Jensen. "Couple days ago, he warned of this... person named the Anointed One? Said they'd lead us all to Hell."

Jensen shakes his head. "No. Jared killed him," he says. He can still remember the guy's face, all twisted and wrong, the hissed prayers he spit out. Can still remember how hard the blow hit him, the power in his fist. No way that _couldn't_ be the Anointed.

Miss Ferris frowns. "That's what Jeffrey said. Big, tall guy, right?" Jensen nods, and Miss Ferris bites her lip. "This guy says the Anointed One's female. A child."

The blood in Jensen's body runs cold. "No," he says. "No, that--that can't be."

"He was right about other things," she says. "That earthquake? That was one of his first predictions."

"So what _did_ Jared kill that night?"

Miss Ferris just shrugs her shoulders. "My guess is a decoy, maybe. Something to keep Jared away from the scent." She gestures to the pile of papers. "I gave copies of this all to Jeffrey," she says. "He's looking into it. Hopefully he finds more concrete evidence, but that's really all I know."

Jensen nods and swallows, sets the paper back on the stack. "Did you also know Jared's supposed to die tomorrow night?" he asks, and somehow he finishes on a whisper.

Miss Ferris looks at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I did."

Jensen nods once more. "Right. Well, um, thanks for the information. I appreciate it." Jensen turns to leave and manages to get his hand on the doorknob before Miss Ferris speaks again, her voice soft but clear in the empty room.

"Hey, Jensen?"

"Yeah?"

"Jeffrey may have made some progress. He'd be your best bet to find out anything more recent."

Jensen nods but doesn't turn his head. "Yeah," he says carefully. "Thanks."

*

Jensen's in his room, staring at his math book but not really seeing anything on the pages. His eyes are starting to droop but he doesn't want to go to bed, not if he can fight it. He checks his cell phone every couple of minutes, the lingering doubt that maybe he didn't hear it ring, or maybe he accidentally shut it off. He keeps checking to make sure that the ringer's turned up as loud as it can go, but it doesn't make any difference: Jared's not going to call.

It's fitting that a minute after he reaches that conclusion, there's a sharp rap at his window. Jensen jerks his head around and can't hold back his smile. Jared's crouched on the roof, looking in, and his hair is matted to his forehead from the rain. Jensen's up in an instant, sliding the window pane up so Jared can slip inside quickly. Jensen closes the window again and turns to Jared, who's dripping water all over Jensen's floor.

"You're wet," Jensen says, unable to help stating the obvious. "One sec, I'll get you a towel."

Jensen takes two of the biggest towels they have in the bathroom and brings them back to his room. Tossing one to Jared, which he catches easily with a quiet, "Thank you," Jensen sets the other on his bed and goes to sit down on the chair at his desk.

He watches as Jared pushes the towel through his long hair, hands going a mile a minute as they shake through the strands. Jensen stays quiet throughout the entire thing, only speaking when Jared's finished with his head. "If you want to take off those clothes, I can give you some of mine."

Not waiting for Jared to reply, Jensen heads over to his dresser and starts looking for stuff that's a bit big on him. A quick look back at Jared shows he's complying, stripping out of his jacket. Jensen manages to find a Zeppelin shirt that should fit Jared, and a pair of shorts. When he turns back around, Jared's stripped off his shirt and is currently toweling his stomach dry. Jensen feels the sharp spike of arousal race through him at the sight, but he keeps himself in check and sets the clothes on the bed, then heads to his desk and tries to look busy.

"You can turn around," Jared says after what feels like hours. When Jensen does, he's greeted by Jared fully clothed, looking a lot less wet than when he started out. His hair still looks damp, but other than that he looks comfortable in the worn black t-shirt and shorts. "Thanks," Jared says again.

Jensen just nods and says, "No problem."

Jared sits on Jensen's bed and then things go quiet, an awkward silence that Jensen has never felt with Jared. He hates how it makes him feel, unsettled and anxious, _angry_. He has things he wants to say, but he can't manage to get a grasp of the words. Maybe that's a good thing.

"So, um," Jared starts, pushing a hand through his hair. "I--I should've called."

Jensen releases a breath. "Yeah, you really should've."

Jared nods and scratches at the back of his neck. His other hand is folded into a fist and resting on his knee, mirroring Jensen's own. "I just... I don't know. I needed some time to try and register it, you know?"

"Yeah," Jensen says, even though he really doesn't. "Did you talk to Jeff yet?"

Jared flinches at the name, which presents Jensen a clearer answer than words ever could. "You're the first person I've said more than two words to since--" Jared swallows on the word and breaks off with a tight smile. "I thought my mom was gonna throttle me, honestly. She made lasagna tonight and I didn't even finish one piece, and she--"

Jared prattles on, constant flow of words leaving his mouth in a fury. If Jensen didn't know better, he'd say it was probably due to the fact that Jared hasn't spoken much since last night. "Jared," he says, cutting Jared off because he _does_ know better. Jared stops mid-sentence and looks at him, and Jensen rushes the words off his tongue: "Are we going to talk about it?"

The tension in the room raises instantly, and Jared gets up from his spot. "It's late," he says. "I should probably go, let you get some sleep."

He's already pushing up the window by the time Jensen understands what's going on. He stands up quickly. "Wait, Jared, come on, don't leave." Jared turns back to face him, expression unreadable, and Jensen feels suddenly brazen, feels incredibly brave for one moment. "Stay, please? I won't bring it up, just. I--I missed you and you could... stay."

Jared pauses longer than he probably should over the offer, but Jensen only cares about what happens once he decides: Jared closes the window and walks to the spot Jensen's standing and wraps his arms around him, squeezing tight. Jensen's engulfed in quick heat and he presses his nose to Jared's shoulder, smells himself from the t-shirt, smells the rain--smells Jared lying under both. Jensen digs his fingers into Jared's back, strengthening his grip on him.

Jensen's not sure how long they stay like that, losing track of the minutes with Jared pressed tight against him. He yawns eventually, a little too loud, and Jensen can feel the soft rumble against his chest as Jared laughs. "You should get to bed," he says quietly as he pulls away.

Jensen nods and rubs at his arm. "Yeah, probably."

He expects this next part to be awkward, but it's not; Jensen watches as Jared slips his fingers under the cotton of his t-shirt and tugs it off in one smooth move, leaving just his shorts as he climbs into Jensen's bed. Jensen's tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth at the sight, mind not quite wrapping around it, but he quickly gets down to his underwear before climbing in behind Jared. Immediately a strong arm slides over his hip and pulls him in by the waist, moving their bodies close enough to share breath.

Jared looks incredible up close, smooth skin and bright eyes. Jensen runs his thumb over the bump of the mole by Jared's nose, Jared's nostrils widening in response. This is new to Jensen, the heat of Jared's body in such close proximity under the blankets, but he's far from complaining. Jared's fingers are tapping out a light rhythm over Jensen's spine and Jensen closes his eyes, takes in the feeling. He could fall asleep like this.

Then, Jared speaks, soft and slow: "Can I ask you something?"

Jensen opens his eyes, Jared's face swimming back into his view. "Sure."

"Do you--" Jared bites his lip and starts again. "Do you think I did the wrong thing last night?"

Jensen feels his throat close up. "Jay--"

"Just," Jared says, pausing with a small, encouraging smile, "tell me. And not just what you think I wanna hear."

It's a question that Jensen has thought about a lot over the past twenty-four hours, but even now it still feels impossible for him to answer. "I think," he says, weighing his words carefully. "I think you've saved a lot of people here, and for that I don't think you should've quit. But at the same time, nobody has the right to expect you to just... sacrifice yourself. That's asking too much."

"Yeah," Jared murmurs, but he doesn't sound entirely convinced.

*

They have a plan when morning comes: Jared sneaks out of Jensen's bedroom window before his mom ventures into his room, Jensen goes downstairs to start breakfast, and then Jared rings the doorbell and comes in. It's terrible and Jensen's paranoid his mother is going to recognize the fact that Jared's wearing his clothes. She doesn't, however, just ushers Jared into the house and continues getting ready for work.

Jensen smirks and turns away from the eggs he's beating with a fork. "Funny seeing you this early."

"Shut up," Jared says with a small smile, hip checking Jensen. "Can I help with anything?"

"Wash your hands," Jensen says immediately. "Then you can do the toast."

Jared rolls his eyes but does as he's told. They eat in relative silence, just saying goodbye to Jensen's mom as she's going out the door.

Afterward, when they're cleaning the plates off to put in the dishwasher, Jared places a hand on Jensen's shoulder. He says, "I've been thinking," and then he pauses, throat working as he contemplates. "I should go see Jeff today, just to... well, I don't know. I just think I should."

Jensen nods, but doesn't say anything.

They find their way to the couch a little later, Jared handling the remote as he flips through infomercial after infomercial. He finally settles on Saturday morning cartoons, which is currently an extremely old episode of _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ that Jensen remembers watching when he was eight. He used to be obsessed with that show, probably still has his cards stashed somewhere. He wonders if Jared's ever played and if his eight year old self was as bad up for the show as Jensen's was. Doubtful, if the expression he's wearing is anything to go by; Jared seems more prone to _Pokémon_ or something, anyway.

Maybe he could find those cards again and teach Jared, if he even can remember how to play himself. Maybe they could do that tonight instead of going to the spring fling. Just play cards all night, until the sun breaks through into morning and Jensen can rest easy that Jared's still with him.

Jared snuggles in closer to him then, and Jensen clears his mind of everything but the solid lump of warmth pressed against him. He relaxes into Jared and watches half-heartedly as the climax of the episode approaches.

Jared never does go to see Jeff.

*

Jensen gets a text message much later that night, after his mother's cooked the three of them dinner. It's fast-fry chops with mashed potatoes and broccoli, and Jensen's half-way through it when his phone starts to beep. He digs it out of his pocket and watches from the corner of his eye as Jared does the same. It's from Sophia, and Jensen feels dread creep over him.

 _can you come over? right now_

Jensen glances at Jared, eyes scanning over his phone. Jared stands up abruptly. "I. Jensen, I need you to drive me to Danneel's, and you--"

"What's going on, dear?" Jensen's mom asks, and Jared's lips are tightly drawn together before he speaks.

"There's been a couple of bodies found at school," Jared says, and then looks at Jensen. "Danni and Sophia found them." He pauses. "One of them was James."

Jensen swallows tightly and nods. "Okay, yeah, come on."

*

Sophia is a pale figure when Jensen walks into her room. Her hands are between her legs and her head is bowed, and she's trembling. She doesn't even bother to look up when Jensen closes the door.

"Oh, Soph," Jensen murmurs, and she makes no movement as he sits down next to her. He presses his hand to her back and she leans into him, her hair against his chin, and then she starts crying: soft, shaky breaths against him. "You wanna talk about it?"

She shakes her head and sniffs, but then pulls back anyway, slides her hands through her hair to draw it back away from her face. "It was so awful. Benny, the guy from the Bronze, he--he called and said nobody showed up with the sound system. So Danneel and I, we went to the school to get it." She bites her lip and wipes haphazardly at her eyes. "I was so _angry_ at him, you know? The things I said about him on the way up--I was such a bitch."

Jensen squeezes her leg. "Hey, you didn't know."

"And then when I opened the door to the AV room--" she cuts off, voice going tight. "He just... he fell out onto the floor."

Jensen and Sophia have been friends since second grade, since she pushed somebody for taking Jensen's book, and since then she's been nothing but loud and sure of herself. It's a shock to the senses to see her like this. It's unnatural.

"He was so cold," she whispers. "So pale. And his eyes--oh god, _his eyes_ , Jensen!"

"Okay," Jensen says quickly, running his hand up the length of her thigh. "Just, calm down, okay? Breathe."

Sophia furiously shakes her head. "No. No, Jensen, I--I can't. James, he was--he was _nice_. He was a sweet and he was a good guy, and he didn't deserve this. I did this to him. If I hadn't asked him--"

"Hey, no," Jensen says, voice firm as he wipes a fresh tear on Sophia's cheek. "You didn't do anything, okay? The only ones who're at fault here are the ones who did it. And they'll pay."

Sophia lets out a shaky breath as Jensen stands. "How?"

Jensen doesn't know, truthfully. Jared's out of the game and he doesn't know how much longer that'll go on, but if he's honest it doesn't really matter: if Jensen could find the guys who did this, he'd drive the stakes in their hearts himself. "Don't worry about that," he says finally. "Just--stay in tonight, okay? Don't go to the dance."

Any other time, Sophia would pitch a fit if Jensen told her to avoid a dance. Now, though, she just nods, and Jensen flashes her a tight smile as he leaves her room.

*

Jared slides into the car looking comparable to how Jensen feels right now. He doesn't say much as he shuts the door, just a quick, "Can you take me to my place for a minute?" When Jensen nods, he just relaxes against the seat with his bottom lip caught between his teeth. Jensen wants to ask what's up, how's Danneel taking everything, if she managed to tell him more details, but then he doesn't.

They drive in silence, and Jensen briefly considers putting on the radio to drown out the voices in his head before vetoing the idea completely. Instead, he concentrates on the road and the ever-growing darkness that's falling over Sunnydale. He taps out a quiet rhythm with his fingers on the steering wheel on the way there, one that dies a quick death when he turns his car into Jared's driveway.

Jensen shuts the car off as Jared unbuckles, his seatbelt not even off before he's pushing the door open. "I'll be less than five minutes," he says, and then he's barreling up the steps and entering his house.

True to his word, Jared's out in under five, changed out of Jensen's clothes and wearing all black: tight t-shirt, jeans and leather jacket. Jensen swallows tightly at the sight of him, knows exactly what an outfit like that means for Jared. It's easy to run in, easy to fight in.

Jared's buttoning the sleeves of his jacket, hair hanging in his eyes. "I just need you to take me to the library, and then--"

"And then what, Jared?" Jensen asks, making no move to turn the key. Jared glances up at him, eyes focused and determined. "You're actually planning to face him."

"There's not many options here, Jensen. I don't, and people are just gonna keep dying."

"You go and _you'll_ die," Jensen bites out.

Jared smiles without humor, shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, maybe. But maybe I'll take him with me." It's a complete 180 from what Jensen witnessed at the library the other night, and it bothers him more than he can say.

"Jared..."

"You gonna drive me? Because I can walk," Jared says, implacable, but not unkindly.

Jensen doesn't have to think it over. He sighs jerkily, says, "Yeah, of course," and starts the car.

*

Jensen barely has time to park the car before Jared's climbing out of it and shutting the door with a loud slam. Jensen jogs to catch up, then falls in place next to Jared as they walk into the school.

"You're gonna need more than a stake," is the only thing Jensen can really think of right now.

Jared laughs despite everything else. "Yeah, probably."

There's noise coming from the library, growing louder as they approach, until they push in on the doors and Jeff's voice greets them.

"I don't _care_! Somebody's got to do something, goddamnit, and it's going to be me!"

Jeff's back is to them, crossbow clenched in his hands, and he's currently shouting at Miss Ferris, who's looking pissed standing on the opposite side of a table.

"Yeah, and it's going to be you who gets your dumb ass killed," she fights back. It's louder than Jensen's ever heard her, meaner than he's ever seen her, too. He can relate. "I've read the information, Jeffrey, and you're kidding yourself if you think anybody but the Slayer's got a shot in hell in killing this thing."

"Well, Sam, in case you haven't noticed, we appear to be short on slayers right now!"

Miss Ferris' eyes narrow. "Now don't you feed me _that_ bullshit--"

"Guys?" Jared's voice cuts in between them, shutting them both up as they face him. He smiles slightly and raises a hand. "One slayer, reporting for duty."

Jeff honestly looks stunned. "Jared," he murmurs. "How--why--"

"These guys need to be stopped," Jared says with a shrug.

"And they will be," Jeff says, stubbornness back into his voice. "I'll see to it."

Jared just smirks and shakes his head. "Sorry, but no. You read the prophecy. My job, remember?" He steps up to Jeff and holds out his hand. "Think that belongs to me," he says towards the crossbow.

"I don't care what a damn prophecy says," Jeff growls. "I was wrong, and it was wrong, and I--I _defy_ prophecy!"

Jared rolls his eyes. "Okay so _now_ you decide to throw out the books. Just my luck."

"I'm serious."

Jared nods. "I know."

Jeff looks utterly confused for one quick moment before he covers it up. "Right, then," he says, taking a breath. "You won't convince me otherwise."

Jared nods again and repeats: "I know."

Before Jensen can register what's going on, Jared's fist is traveling through the air and colliding with Jeff's face, a loud crack filling the library as Jeff tumbles to the floor.

"Jared!" Jensen manages. Miss Ferris is already rushing around the table and leaning over Jeff, supporting his head with her hands.

Jared just leans over and plucks the crossbow from Jeff's slack hands and grabs the group of arrows on the table. He loads one in, checks it, and then lowers it. Jensen's glued to his spot as he watches Jared head into Jeff's office, coming out a minute later with his stake in hand. He regards Miss Ferris, currently running her fingers against Jeff's forehead.

"You're looking for a kid," Miss Ferris says. "They'll take you to him."

Jared nods. "When he wakes up," he says, "tell him thanks. Also that I'm sorry."

"I'll tell him," Miss Ferris mutters. "You men are always resorting to violence. Doesn't solve anything."

Jared tucks his stake into his jacket pocket, says, "Let's hope it does tonight," and walks right past Jensen and out of the library. It actually takes Jensen a moment to realize that Jared's gone, mind suddenly swimming with _this is the last time I'm ever going to see him_.

"Jared!" Jensen shouts after him, but Jared doesn't turn around; Jensen's actually sure that Jared picks up his pace. He lets the library door swing shut and chases after Jared, who's now approaching the main entrance. Jensen can feel his heart beating faster, stomach twisting and _goddamn_ why won't Jared just turn around?

It's a frantic rush down the steps after he gets outside, and once he's within reach Jensen grabs Jared's arm and hisses, " _Jared_ ," and Jared spins around, face carefully blank. Jensen doubts he's fooling himself, and he's sure as hell not fooling Jensen.

"Go back inside, Jensen," Jared says, harsh and matter-of-fact: an actual damn order.

Jensen shakes his head. "No way."

"Let me go, man."

"Or what?" Jensen asks, voice coming out too strained to his ears. "You gonna knock me out, too?" He throws his arms out to the side, feels suddenly invincible with adrenaline. "Go ahead."

"Jensen, come on," Jared starts, but that's all he manages to get out before he's cut off, quiet voice carrying a simple sentence on the wind.

" _Help me_."

The girl is small and pale with straight, soft blonde hair, standing a couple of feet away from them. She looks about seven, maybe eight, and she's wearing a white sundress that ends just past her knees. Her shoes are dirty, the edge of her dress tattered and torn, and she clutches the arm of a small, one-eyed stuffed bear in her hand.

Jensen swallows as he takes her in. He was there when Jared fought what he had thought was the Anointed and had the bruises to show for it, but now he feels sick to his stomach, and more terrified than he's ever been. She looks unassuming, her face completely innocent and devoid of anything but painted on fear.

The girl--the _Anointed_ , Jensen's brain supplies--holds out her free hand, small, chubby fingers that might as well be claws spread out to attack. "Help me, please."

"It's okay," Jared says, and then he takes a step forward. "I know who you are. It's okay."

" _Jay_." Jensen steps in behind him, only to have Jared turn back and face him head on.

"You come with me and they'll kill you," Jared says softly. "I can't watch that, Jensen, so _please_. You can't follow me."

And maybe Jensen should stay firm, maybe tell Jared to shove his good intentions, fight until he caves in. Instead, Jensen takes in the girl, young face matted with fake tears and that small little fist squeezing tight around the bear's arm. He can't contemplate what kind of monster she can become, and he doesn't want to send Jared off with her. But still, he nods.

"Yeah, okay," he says, brushing his fingers against Jared's arm. "Just, promise me you'll be careful."

Jared smiles then, small, warm and reassuring, like Jensen's the one about to end his life and needs to be comforted. Jensen watches through tight breaths as Jared steps up to the Anointed and takes her hand in his. They've faded into the darkness by the time Jensen stops watching, turns around, and takes off running into the school. Jared may have stopped Jensen from going with him, but there's no way Jensen's staying behind while Jared gets killed.

Miss Ferris is still on the floor with Jeff when Jensen crashes through the doors, and Jeff is still out cold. Jensen moves past them both and heads into Jeff's office, into a world of a million pages that mean nothing to Jensen right now and maybe--just maybe--one that might. There's a book lying open on Jeff's desk, and Jensen glances at it as he moves around the room, eyes getting caught on the drawing.

It's the Master. Nothing more than an artists rendition, but Jensen's stomach twists at it all the same, taking in the twists and sharp contours of his face, the paleness of his skin, the slant of his eyes. There's red around his mouth, like it's been stained permanently from blood, and Jensen slams into the book's edge with his hand, watches it go toppling over the edge and hitting the floor with an unsatisfying smack. Jared could be facing that thing right now.

He searches Jeff's desk first, pulling out drawers one at a time and flipping through the contents quickly, eyes concentrating on finding that single name. "C'mon, Jeff," Jensen mutters, fingers spreading out the contents. "I know you've got it. C'mon... yes!" Jensen pulls the sticky note from the pile and shoves it in his pocket.

Miss Ferris looks up at him when he comes out, her eyebrows pushed together. "You're not gonna be a fool and go after him, are you?"

Jensen ignores the question. "Could you do me a favor? Call Danneel and Chad, let them know what's up." He waits for her nod and then he's pushing through the library's doors, headed for his car.

*

The sound of Jensen's knuckles rapping on the door is too loud in his ears, a frantic, hard pound that's his best way of getting across _hurry the hell up, it's life or death, open the door!_ He keeps at it, smashing his fist against the wood despite the fact that he may very well leave blood on the door. It's not like he cares either way but evidently the occupant does, shows it by how they rip open the door with a twist of the doorknob.

"Jesus _Christ_ what is your goddamn--"

Genevieve's sendoff dies on her tongue as she takes him in.

Jensen holds out his hand dumbly. "Hi, I'm--"

"Jensen," she supplies. Her eyes crackle with-- _something_. "Last person I'd expect to see tonight."

"How'd you--"

"I can smell him on you," she says quietly, and she sags against the door, looking Jensen over with unreadable eyes. He feels tenser all of a sudden, the knowledge of just what she is coming back to him and ringing in his head. Jensen tugs the collar of his jacket tight around his neck and doesn't miss Genevieve's replying smirk. He's not sure he was supposed to. "I also saw you at the library."

"Right," Jensen says, swallowing. "Jared's gone."

Genevieve's demeanor changes immediately, pushing herself off the door and crossing her arms. "Gone? What do you mean, _gone_? He just took off?"

"No," Jensen says immediately. " _No_ , Jared wouldn't do something like that. He went to kill the Master."

Genevieve's jaw goes tight and her eyes narrow, shoulders one tense line as she takes a step towards Jensen. "He-- The Master will kill him."

"So rumor has it. But we're not gonna let this happen."

Genevieve snorts. "We?"

"We," Jensen says firmly. "I'll bet the farm you either know where this guy's hiding out or know somebody who does. Take me to him."

"Kid, I hate to break it to you, but the Master would kill you before you had a chance to scream."

And vampire or not, Jensen just doesn't give a shit at the moment. He advances on her, inches from her face. "I don't _care_. I'm not letting Jared go against him alone. I haven't really gotten a chance to get to know you, but I have met plenty of your friends. Jared tells me you're not like that." Jensen watches her face for a reaction but gets nothing, just cold and calculated consideration. He swallows tightly. "Prove to me he's right."

It feels like they spend forever standing there, just staring each other down, and then finally Genevieve's shoulders collapse and she shakes her head.

"I'm driving," is all she says.

*

Genevieve's reckless on the road, weaving between cars when necessary and going well over any speed limit when it's not. Jensen sits with his eyes closed and fingers digging into his knees until the car stops and Genevieve murmurs, "We're here."

There's a mausoleum standing tall and foreboding in front of the car, door broken down the center and crumbling to the sides.

"They're in there?"

"No," Genevieve says, pushing her door open and climbing out of the car. "They're in the sewers. This is just the most convenient access point to where they're hiding."

Jensen frowns but follows suit. "Sewers?"

Genevieve snorts and shakes her head. "Yeah, the funny thing about being a vampire is that you tend to be more willing to smell shit than risk being burnt crispy by the sun. Here," she says as she pulls something from her jacket. It's not until she holds one out to Jensen that the moonlight reveals just what it is. "You might need one of these."

Jensen nods and takes the stake, then gestures to the mausoleum. "Lead the way."

The crypt is almost pitch black inside, stale smell in the air, and Jensen's already missing the little light the outdoors brought. In front of him, Genevieve pulls open a half-hidden door and lowers herself down, and Jensen follows close behind, climbing down the ladder.

He covers his nose when he drops to the floor, smell of sewage burning in his nostrils. It's brighter down here, Jensen nervously realizes, and when he turns around he can see why: along one wall of the tunnel are torches, the flames rolling high up against the dark surface. It clears any possible doubts he might've had that the Master might not be down here, and Jensen grips the stake in his hand tightly.

"You hear anything or see anything, you stake it," Genevieve says quietly. "Got it?"

"Got it," Jensen says, and then they're moving through the tunnel. It's long and twisting, torches lighting the path through intersections, and Jensen has the sudden, worrisome thought that maybe this is too easy, that maybe this is a trap.

Before he can say anything, Genevieve stops dead in her tracks, Jensen slamming into her back and earning a glare for it. Genevieve gestures with her head and Jensen follows it, suddenly realizing why she stopped. In front of them, the tunnel opens up into a large room. There's not much to be made out from their vantage point, only large candles that drip wax like blood, and then Jensen realizes a second thing.

It's quiet.

Genevieve must realize the same thing, because she approaches the opening carefully and glances out quickly, pulling back just as fast before doing it again, this time taking it slow. When she turns back to Jensen, he can read the unease from the glare of the torchlight.

"The Master's gone, and--"

"And what?" Jensen asks. "Is Jared gone with him?"

Genevieve shakes her head slowly. "He--" She bites her lip. "We got here too late."

"What?" Jensen says frantically. There's no way she means what she's implying, because Jared can't--

His ears are pounding and he drops his stake, rushing past Genevieve and down into the room, ignoring her shouts of protest. He scans the room for any signs of Jared, and his stomach drops when his eyes land on the body lying in the center of the place, facedown in a puddle of water and far too still for Jensen's comfort.

"Jay?" Jensen barely manages, voice cracking as he takes in the entire image. There's stark red glistening on the side of Jared's neck and Jensen pushes past the sting in his eyes as he approaches.

"Jared?" he says softly, getting to his knees. He nudges Jared's body over just as gently, still warm to the touch, and gets him out of the water. The breath goes out of him at the sight, Jared's hair matted to his forehead, lips parted, eyes closed...

"Move over."

Jensen jerks his head up just in time to see Genevieve crouch down to his level. She presses her hand to Jared's bite and chews on her lip. "It's not a deep bite. There might be a shot... do you know CPR?" Jensen shakes his head swiftly and Genevieve nods, pushes up the sleeves of her jacket. "Alright, I can do most of it. Just--I'm going to need you to give him air when I tell you to. Hold his nose and breathe into his mouth."

Jensen nods shakily and rubs his palms on his thighs. "Okay."

Genevieve folds one of her hands over the other and presses down on Jared's chest, counts out, "One... two... three... okay, do it now."

Jensen follows instructions and squeezes Jared's nose and breathes deeply into his mouth, then pulls back. He closes his eyes tightly for a moment, says a silent prayer and opens them again. No change, and Genevieve counts out the rhythm again: "One... two... three... again."

Still nothing. Jensen can feel the hope slipping away, feel _Jared_ slipping away. "It's not working," he growls.

Genevieve doesn't reply other than counting out three more beats, and Jensen does his role again. _Come on, Jay, just c'mon. Don't you fucking dare leave me._

" _Again_ ," Genevieve grunts, and just as Jensen starts to lean down, Jared starts coughing. Jensen's taken aback quickly, eyes going wide as Genevieve moves Jared to his side, Jared sputtering out water and gasping for breath. He's clutching his stomach and he looks like hell, but he's _alive_ and that's all Jensen cares about right now.

"Are you okay?" Jensen asks as Jared's breathing starts to regulate again.

Jared wipes at his mouth. "I told you not to come after me," he says, voice shaky, and a moment later he smiles, just as unsteady. "Thanks for not listening."

Jensen smiles tightly and nods, pushing Jared's hair out of his face. Genevieve catches his eye then, and Jensen nods, grabs one of Jared's arms while Genevieve takes the other and helps him up to his feet.

"Easy," Jensen says when Jared stumbles back. "We need to get you out of here. You're weak, you need to lie down somewhere."

Jared shakes his head emphatically, and he almost falls back down. "No, I'm fine. Where's the Master?"

"Gone," Genevieve supplies.

"Thanks to me."

Jensen squeezes Jared's shoulder. "Come on, Jay, it's not your fault. He was just too--"

"No," Jared interrupts quickly, "it is my fault. Before he... you know, he said he needed me to come to him before--before he could be free." His fingers ghost over the fresh bite on his neck from the Master. "Slayer's blood," he adds unnecessarily.

Jensen swallows and nods, but it's Genevieve who bites the bullet. "Look, you can feel sorry for yourself once the Master's dead. Right now we need to get you out of here."

"Yeah, you do," Jared says. "And then you need to take me to him."

"You can barely stand up," Genevieve growls, "and we have no idea where this guy is. Are you goddamn retarded or do you have a death wish?"

"I'm _fine_. And I know where he is."

Jensen bites down on his lip. "How?"

Jared slips his arms out of their grasp. "I just know."

Jensen glances at Genevieve to gauge her reaction. She just shakes her head. "If you fuckin' die again you can revive yourself, kid."

"Thanks," Jared says with a faint smile. "Come on."

*

Sunnydale High looks more sinister than ever as Genevieve parks the car in front of the steps. She squeezes the wheel and sighs, glances to Jared. "You sure about this?"

Jared nods, says on a murmur: "He killed me. I should probably return the favor."

It makes the hairs on the back of Jensen's neck stand up, the quiet understanding of just what the Master did to Jared clouding his brain.

"He's on the roof," Jared says as they get out of the car. "I'm gonna need you guys to make sure none of his minions follow me up. Then I'll go up there, dust him, and... well, I don't give a shit what happens after that."

The halls are empty when they get inside, and if it wasn't for the completely determined expression on Jared's face, he might wonder if Jared's hunch was right. As is, he squeezes the stake in his hand and keeps close behind Jared, Genevieve to the other side of him. When the red door comes into view, a lump grows in Jensen's throat.

"Alright," Jared starts, turning around. "Once I go up there, nobody else does. You go that?"

"We got that," Genevieve says. "And if you keep it up with these orders, I swear I'm going to kick your ass after all this is over."

Jared just flashes her an easy smile and focuses on Jensen. "Nervous?" he asks on an exhale.

Jensen snorts. "Right, I'm the one who should be nervous."

"Hey, I've met the guy before. The butterflies are dead this time around."

"Be careful," Jensen says.

Jared nods, gives him a reassuring smile. "I will. You too." And then Jared opens the door to the roof and starts the climb, door slamming loudly behind him.

Genevieve eyes Jensen carefully and holds up her stake. "You ever use one of these?" Jensen shakes his head, and she nods. "Well, you won't be saying that after tonight."

Almost immediately after, Jensen hears the telltale snarls and a spark of tension mixed with nerves races up his spine. Two vampires come at them, tall, lanky guys with their fangs bared and faces contorted and twisted, and Jensen swallows, raises his stake and prepares for the impact.

The larger one pounces on him, growling as he tackles Jensen to the floor, stake flying out of Jensen's hand. He pins him there, fingers cutting off the circulation to Jensen's wrists and keeping him in place. Jensen groans and turns away from the guy's mouth and the foul breath coming from it, tries to get some purchase to throw the vampire off. He can hear Genevieve having similar problems from beside him, grunts and fist connecting with bone echoing in the hallway. Above him, the vampire sneers, beady eyes raking over Jensen's face.

Jensen tries again to shake him off, putting all the weight he can to try and turn them over, but the vampire's far too strong for that. Jensen swallows weakly and closes his eyes when the guy starts to sink down towards his neck--there's no way that he wants to watch this happen. He's dead. In less than a minute, he's going to be a corpse.

Then, suddenly, there's a startled cry and the heavy weight pinning Jensen down is gone. Jensen opens his eyes immediately and sees the vampire leaning against the wall, crouched over and clutching his side. Genevieve is standing to Jensen's right, looking pleased with herself as she says, "He's all yours, kid."

Jensen gets to his knees quickly and finds his stake, then takes a deep breath before slamming the stake in the vampire's chest, feeling the give of flesh and bone as the wood splinters through him. He watches as the guy's eyes go glassy, and then he's dust and Jensen's stake falls to the floor. Jensen pants heavily, staring at the small pile of dust that's all that remains of what could've killed him. What _would've_ killed him.

Genevieve's hand comes into his view then, fingers spread and Jensen takes it and lets her help him up. "Word of advice? Never let them get you on your back. You're almost always vamp chow that way."

Swallowing, Jensen nods. "I'll keep that in mind." Jesus, he _killed_ something.

Genevieve smirks. "Hope you didn't tire yourself out," she says, and Jensen follows the tilt of her head to see three more vampires coming at them.

*

Jensen's about to dust his fourth vampire when she growls and shoves him, hands pushing hard against his chest. The breath goes out of him and he ends up tumbling backwards and collides with the wall, and then she's running away from the fight, the one Genevieve was fighting going with her. Jensen clutches his knees and takes a couple sharp breaths. He's not sure why they retreated--they've been incessant after the first wave, not stopping until they got staked and then more would come out--but he can't really complain right now if it gives him a break. His body is bruised and his joints are sore and aching.

"That was... weird," Genevieve murmurs.

Jensen looks up at her. "Yeah, just what I was thinking. Any idea what's got 'em spooked?"

"I'm guessing that," Genevieve says, gesturing behind Jensen with a small smirk.

Jensen follows her hand and almost collapses with relief. "Jared?"

Jared closes the door behind him and blows his bangs out of his face. He smiles, tired but happy. "You guys okay?"

Jensen nods. "How about you?" he asks, only to see the ripped t-shirt and the long scratch near Jared's neck, four thin lines of bright red that match the aging bite the Master put there an hour ago. "You're hurt," he adds, reaching out unconsciously and brushing the pads of his fingers over it, but pulls back when Jared hisses.

"This is nothing," Jared says quietly. "You should see the other guy."

Jensen swallows tightly at the suggestion and squeezes his arms to his chest. "What'd you do to him?"

Jared just shrugs and licks his lips. "You'll see."

"Nice job, kid," Genevieve says, cutting in with a smirk. "Looks like you did okay tonight. Maybe your watcher will be able to remove that stick from his ass now."

Jared cringes. "Oh crap, _Jeff_ ," he mutters, running a hand through his hair. "I've gotta get to the library. The Master might not've killed me, but I'm not so sure about Jeff."

"He, uh... slugged him," Jensen supplies at Genevieve's raised eyebrow.

" _Nice_ ," she says, a delighted grin on her face.

*

There's an entire gang to greet them when they enter the library: Chad, Danneel, Sophia, Miss Ferris and Jeff, a purplish bruise coloring his cheek. The five of them look exhausted, and it's only then that Jensen manages to take in the destruction of the room.

The library looks like a tornado ran through it--tables are splintered into sections, shelves are broken and books are scattered everywhere, littering the floor along with pieces of wood. In the center of the room just under the broken skylight is a jagged half of a table, a clean skeleton impaled on it. Jensen swallows tightly at the sight.

Jared gave them a quick recap of what happened on the walk downstairs, and seeing the Master's bones like this is unsettling. They're long and wide, and Jensen's quietly relieved he never got the chance to see him in person.

"What happened here?" Jared asks as he takes in the room himself.

"Apparently the Master was chummy with more than just his fanged buddies," Chad mutters, rubbing his shoulder. "Like huge motherfucking things with tentacles."

"Did anybody get hurt?"

Danneel shakes her head. "We're mostly okay. It's just couple of bumps."

"And bruises," Jeff adds, looking significantly at Jared. Jared smiles apologetically and Jeff smiles back. "You did good tonight, Jared."

"Thanks."

Jensen heads over to where Sophia is, sitting on one of the few unbroken chairs. "Thought you were going to stay in tonight," he says, which earns him a small smile.

"Figured hanging with your loser friends beats lying on my bed all night. Marginally," she adds.

Jensen smirks and flicks her arm. "Come on, admit it. You like them."

Sophia rolls her eyes but she doesn't deny it, the corner of her lip curling up.

"I hate to break up the party," Miss Ferris says. "But what are we supposed to do with him?" She points to the remains of the Master with uncertainty.

"The school could probably use a new skeleton for the science lab," suggests Jared.

"We could feed him to some dogs," says Chad.

Jeff sighs and shakes his head. "I'll see to it that he's buried some place where nobody will find him."

"Oh, come on, that's boring," Chad whines.

"And if you say another word, I'll see to it that you're buried with him," Jeff says, and Chad blanches for a minute before spouting off a comeback.

Jensen tunes them out before long, because Jared walks over to him once everybody else gets invested in the showdown, small smirk on his face as he slips his arm around Jensen's waist. "You enjoying the show?" he asks.

"I am suddenly enjoying it a lot more," Jensen confesses, and Jared grins. Jensen smiles back and mirrors Jared's hand on his back with his own hand on Jared's, moves in a little closer. "The Anointed's still out there somewhere."

Jared shakes his head. "I don't care. Without her boss, she's nothing but a glorified minion."

Jensen's not certain he agrees, but he nods anyway, pushes out a smile. "So, Jared Padalecki, you just managed to save the world. What's next on your list of amazing feats?"

Jared laughs and tosses the hair out of his eyes, hums in thought for a quick moment. "I think," he says slowly, "that I'm gonna kiss you."

"And you think that that's going to be amazing?" Jensen asks, trying to keep the smile off his face and failing completely.

"I don't know," Jared murmurs, "why don't you tell me?" And then he presses their lips together.

If Jensen's honest, it _is_ pretty amazing.


End file.
